


Two Minutes To Know You

by TheDying_Hero



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Brief mention of war, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Lucy is sassy, Lucy is single, Natsu has scars, Natsu is smooth, Natsu still picks fights, Speed Dating, Speed dating au, Valentine's Day, jounralist!Lucy, lucy drinks wine, modern-au, solider!Natsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24261121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDying_Hero/pseuds/TheDying_Hero
Summary: As a favor to Erza, Lucy attends a speed dating event during Valentines Day and quickly becomes smitten with man who won't leave her alone...not that she minds.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 133





	Two Minutes To Know You

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This my second story, so I'm still finding my style and all that good stuff. I found this prompt online and thought it was to cute to pass up. Enjoy the story and tell me what you think!

To Lucy’s great misfortune, she was a good friend. She tried to be as helpful as possible, always there to lend a hand when things go wrong. She was the first person to bring ice-cream and sappy movies to yell after one of her friends had a break up. 

She was a good friend. 

But good lord she wishes she wasn’t right now. 

Erza was an event planner for a rather large company for social media. There were always special events going on, from charity balls to small time office bonding. While Erza worked as Fairy Tail Corp., Lucy was a freelance writer. Her work dragged her all over the city, selling articles to the newspaper to even writing a few pieces for Fairy Tail promos. 

So when Erza came to Lucy in a panic asking for Lucy to fill in a sport for her Valentines Day event, she agreed with a smile on her face. It wasn’t until the day before the event that Lucy realized it was a speed dating event. Overcome with mortification and anger, Lucy had called Erza hurriedly trying to excuse herself. Erza being intimidated, freaked out and stressed was not good for the writer. Long story short, Lucy is now sitting at a nice restaurant with a glass of wine, sitting in a single file row next to nervous women. 

There was still a few minutes before the men had to take their seats across from some  _ lucky  _ lady. Looking over to her to the bar, there was a gaggle of men, each one dressed semi-formally with an alcoholic beverage of some kind. Her eyes drifted to the line of women next to her, each one squirming or touching up their makeup. 

When Lucy arrived ten minutes ago, she was a moment away from ordering a line of shots when Erza appeared out of nowhere and forced a light wine into her hand. Being too afraid of a stressed Erza, Lucy just took the glass with a wine and made her way open to her assigned table. 

“Lucy.” 

Responding to her name, Lucy shakes herself out of her thoughts to see Lucy standing across from her, a small smile on her face. Smiles were good, which meant things were going well.

“I really can’t thank you enough for this.” Erza said flipping papers on her clipboard nervously. 

“It's ok. It's not like I have anything better to do on Valentines Day.” Lucy sighed looking up at the redhead. 

Now, Lucy was a lovely twenty-five year old bombshell blond with the body men can only dream of. She had no trouble catching eyes and turning eyes, or unfamiliar with random strangers trying to flirt with her. However, when it came to having a boyfriend, she lacked experience. Men were always filtering but never staying long enough to actually get to know her. 

To them, she was sex in heels and Lucy wasn’t one for one night stands. 

“True.” Erza said chuckling, “Any luck on the love department lately?”

“Do you remember when we got stuck in the desert on the way to Crocus?” 

The ginger nodded slowly, lowering her gaze even more.

“It's dryer then the desert.” 

Erza laughed a little, her shoulder shaking slightly. Erza was the first ear Lucy called when she needed to vent about her love life (or lack thereof). Erza was about as lucky as she was, only having a few meaningless flings here and there. So whenever they came up dry at the end of their hunting season, they’d crash a Lucy's apartment and eat ice cream like crying toddlers. 

“That's unfortunate.” she said, still giggling. “Maybe you could find someone here.” 

“No.” Lucy said quickly, taking a swig of her wine. “I’m doing you a favor, not looking for love.”  _ Well that was a total lie.  _

“Just have fun, you might be surprised.” 

“Yeah, surprised at how many guys will be staring at my boobs.”

Before Erza could reply, she was shuffled away by her assistant to start the program. She stood between the row of tables and the bar where the boys were gathered. 

“Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming to Fairy Tails first Valentine's day event. As you know this is a speed date event. Gentlemen, in a moment you will be taking a seat across from one of these lovely ladies and you will have two minutes to just talk and get to know each other a little bit. When the timer is up, you gentlemen will go down the line and repeat the process to the next lady.” 

Lucy held back an eye roll. This was so cheesy and desperate. This whole setting walked out of a cheap Rom-Com. The restaurant was upscale with dim lights, leather and velvet seats, and a small bundle of roses at each table. Lucy held back an eye roll as she took another sip of her drink. 

This whole thing was cheesy. 

“Okay, gentleman, take a seat and we will begin.” Erza said finally. 

Lucy was preparing herself to face off with gross forty year old men with bald spots and some of Fairy Tails “ _ finer _ ” men. She was a piece of meat in a hungry lion's den, and she was not pleased. Looking up to the crowd of men once again, they started to flood in, each taking a seat across from someone. 

That when she saw him. 

There were only a handful of men her age and good looking in the crowd, so imagine her surprise when a tall, good looking man with pink hair walked directly towards her. He was looking sharp in a white dress shirt rolled to his elbows, a dark vest and black slacks. He looked muscular, she could tell from his exposed forearms and he had a scare creeping up the left side of his cheek. 

Oh. 

Oh lord he was gorgeous. 

Lucy took another swig of her wine before the name sat down across from her, with a wide dopeish smile on his face. It was one of those grins that promised mischief and an adventure. It was a smile that made her body relax, and finally feel comfortable for the first time since this morning. She liked that toothy grin. 

“Hey I’m Natsu.” He said leaning on the table, shaking it slightly. “Whats your name?” 

“I’m Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia.” She said sitting a little straighter, her lips pulled into a wry grin. 

As much as he was cute, he could still be a pervert. He could still just flirt and leave, but isn’t that basically was speed dating was? Flirting for an awkward amount of time in an attempt to make an impression and get someone's number? 

“So what a girl like you doing in a place like this?” Natsu said, smirking. “You don’t seem like the type to not have a boyfriend.” 

“Gee thanks.” Lucy huffed, twirling her drink in her hand. “I’m friends with the event manager and she needs to fill one more spot.” 

“Oh I see.” he said leaning back. “I don’t want to be here either.” 

Lucy tilted her head, a small laugh leaving her lips. One minute in and he hasn’t said anything crude. Not too shabby. 

“Oh, well then what's your story?” 

If possible, his grin widened even more. “My friend has been searching for a girlfriend for forever now and he found this...thing and pretty much dragged me here.” 

“Aww, that kind of sweet. So are you supposed to be his wing-man or something?” Lucy joked, leaning on the table. 

“In a sense yes. I am the shitty wing-man.” 

“You aren’t doing a good job.” Lucy said laughing more and Natsu’s face contorted into playful hurt. 

“Now Lucy, it's me.” he said gesturing to himself. “Do you really think I’d pass this chance up?” 

“And what chance would that be, Natsu?” Lucy asked. 

This made her seethe a little bit. She knew she shouldn’t be irritated, this was a dating event after all. She probably should have told him she wasn’t interested and he would move on to the next table. She clenched her jaw and folded her arms on the table. 

“Well, your Lucy Heartfilia right? The magazine writer?” Natsu said as he raised his hand a little in explanation. 

Lucy has been a writer for almost five years now. She had written small town stories to large corporation scandals in the capital. Her articles were popular enough to gain a loyal following but not enough for anyone to recognize her face. To say she was surprised was a little bit of an understatement. 

“O-oh, you recognize my work?” 

“Hell yeah!” Natsu said loudly, drawing the eyes of a few people. “You are pretty much the only writer I read! I really liked the piece you did on the lost book, Day Break.” 

“D-day Break? That was like the first article I ever published!” Lucy said excitedly. “No one has ever recognized my work like that!” 

“I actually had a question about that. How did-” 

The pinkette was cut off by a rather loud gong sound, signaling the end of the “date.” Lucy almost screamed. This was the first time someone recognized her and was engaged about her work and she was being cut off by a  _ gong _ . She didn’t want him to go just yet. Natsu didn’t seem to mind. 

“How did you even get in there? Wasn’t that mansion like heavily guarded or something?” 

Lucy's smile widened, and her mind completely skipped over the fact that Natsu needed to go. How she got to the book Daybreak was mentioned once in a brief sum up of getting it. She was about to answer when a man tapped Natsu on the shoulder. Natsu scowled up at him, peeved at being interrupted. 

“What?” Natsu said sounding bored, his eyes forming a glare. “I’m in the middle of a conversation.” 

“Dude, its time to move on. The bell rang and I would love to talk to this lovely young lady.” 

Natsu eyed the man up and down for a moment when a smirk appeared on his face. Lucy watched Natsu stare the man down for a good moment, the pinkette never breaking character. When the other man began to break out in a sweat, Natsu's big smile returned to his face, all teeth and mischief. 

“Go around.” 

The man nodded quickly and went to take the empty seat that Natsu was supposed to move to. Lucy couldn’t help the laugh that rang out of her mouth. She hated her laugh, it was loud and obnoxious to listen to. She covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle it but Natsu just grinned at her. 

“Sorry, that shouldn’t be funny.” She said straightening herself and forming a forced frown on her lips. “That was rude.” 

“No what was rude was that guy interrupting us.” He said laughing. “How did you get the book?”

“It was really dumb. The owner was hiring maids at the time, so I tried to get hired but the thing is he wanted really ugly maids.” 

Lucy retold him the story of how she snuck in to get the book and how she actually ended up helping the owner find closure. She rambled at some bits but was too excited to care. Natsu meanwhile, listened closely, leaning on his elbows closer to her, and injected a comment here or two. But the entire time he had a smile on his face. It made Lucy feel a little more comfortable. 

“Sorry.” She said scratching her head. “I kinda rambled there, didn't I?” 

“Hah, no worries, it was a good story anyway.” Natsu said, waving his hand in dismissal. 

“So, you know my career but I don’t know yours.” 

“Oh,” Natsu said dumbly and raised his chin like he was thinking. “Um...I’m actually a soldier for the Magnolia Military.” 

Lucy perked up at this. The Magnolia Military was a very big deal, especially since the war with Alverz was just settled last year. All the men and women in the military suffered overseas, facing deadly conditions day and night. They were honored heroes when they finally came home. 

Lucy had a friend who served as an on field medic and the poor girl was nearly traumatized by the experience. Wendy Marvel was her name. Lucy had wanted to protect the younger girl until all the bad things in the world went away, but the girl was a veteran. She was a soldier, and she didn’t need Lucy's protection. 

“I see.” Lucy said her eyes down cast. “I had a friend serve as a medic over there. In the northern region I think. You might actually know her, Wend-” 

“Wendy Marvel!” Natsu said with a big grin taking over his face once again. “Everybody knows Wendy! She patched me up a bunch of times!” He pointed to the scar on his face as reference. 

“It really is a small world.” Lucy laughed. 

She was about to ask another question towards the man and the annoying sound of a gong echoed through the dining room. Lucy had to hold back an eye roll and a groan. She really, really didn’t want him to go. 

“You know, this is getting really annoying.” Lucy grumbled watching another guy approach their table. 

Natsu followed her gaze, looking the other man up and down. “Now that is an ugly dude.” 

Lucy didn’t even try to hold back the boisterous laugh that tore past her lips. “Natsu, that's so rude. What if someone said that about you?” 

“Hah! Why would I care?” Natsu said laughing. 

When she was about to respond, Natsu was pulled back in his chair and another one slipped into its place. Now seated before her was a short man with rust colored hair and oddly shaped chin. Natsu was right, he was rather ugly. 

“Hey! What's the big idea?!” Natsu yelled from behind them, still seated in his chair but clearly pissed. 

The stranger turned around to look at Natsu. “It is time to move on. Go to the next lady.” 

Natsu looked ready to brawl as he stood up and cracked his knuckles. Lucy eyes widened in surprise and as much as she wanted to continue her conversation with Natsu, she feared Erza way to much. 

“Natsu,” she called out and his warm hazel eyes met hers, “he’s right. We are disrupting the event and Erza will kill me.” 

Natsu’s shoulder fell a little at that. Lucy gave him her best reassuring smile and a small wave. “It really was nice talking to you Natsu.” 

He sighed and went unenthusiastic ally to the next table. Lucy tried to turn her attention to the man across from her when he started talking but she found herself glancing next to her at the pinkette who looked as bored as she felt. The man was nice enough and was talking about himself at the moment but Lucy just wanted to talk to Natsu more. 

“How about you?” the man asked 

“Oh, sorry I missed the question?” Lucy asked, tucking a strain of hair behind her ear to seem at least a little innocent. 

“I asked about your career.” 

Lucy quickly explained that she was a freelance writer. It wasn’t a very common profession, and she wasn’t expecting him to recognize her work like Natsu had. However, when she wasn’t expecting much of a reaction, she was surprised to be met with a negative response. 

“I’ve read those articles, they weren’t very good. Honestly I thought they were a little romanticized and made up.” He said crossing his arms, almost in a disapproving manner. 

Lucy was no stranger to criticism. Her work had a reputation for being called fake and ludicrous. She would admit, some of the situations she found herself in her very unordinary and odd, but they were all true. She had never lied in an article, she had never falsely added a source, she was no liar.  The blond had been verbally attacked many times after writing a few articles that were considered controversial. What her “date” had said did not exactly surprise her in general but the idea of him trying to date and saying this was not a great idea. Lucy was about to tell him as much when Natsu stood up from his table next to them and faced them with a wicked glint in his eye. 

Natsu swung an arm around the back of the man's chair and slammed his hand down on the table. Lucy watched with rapid attention, her shoulders pulled back in surprise and her hand unconsciously found the stem of her wine glass. 

She wishes she was drunk. 

“Two thing,” Natsu said menacingly but with a cheerful smile poised on his face, “one, Lucy here is very good at her job and what the hell you would know anyway? Two, if this is how you pick up chicks, you're doing a piss-poor job.”

Lucy didn’t stop the childish giggle that left her mouth, she only put her hand over her mouth when she received a glare from her “date” and a Cheshire-grin from Natsu. Oh, that smile was doing all sorts of things to her. 

“I’m sorry but he has a point.” Lucy said, not sounding the least bit guilty. 

“How about you go talk to the nice lady next to us and I’ll take over for you.” 

The other man looked like he was going to say something but ended up just grumbling and moving the other table. Natsu plopped down into the seat and had that same adorable grin like he didn’t just threaten someone. The whole thing was so goofy. 

“You are very bold.” Lucy said, crossing her arms and leaning back. 

“I have been called many things, bold is not one of them.” Natsu said chuckling. 

“Oh, so what have you been called?” 

“Lets see,” He said rubbing his chin like he was thinking, “abrasive, stupid, confident, hot headed, slick-” 

“People call you slick?” Lucy interrupted, a coy smile playing her lips. “I get the other ones but I would not call you slick.” 

“I am plenty slick thank you!” he said laughing haughty. “How about charming?” 

“No.” 

“No?” 

“Not even a little.” Lucy joked, trying to keep a serious face, but the smile tugging at her lips was too obvious. 

They continued to talk til the gong rang again, but Natsu still didn’t move on from their table. He had snarled and persuaded almost every person to go around or just leave. It was almost eight rounds later that Erza made her way to him, with a vicious twist on her lips and her hands holding a cracked clipboard. 

“Sir, you need to leave.” Erza said sternly, her face turning slightly red. 

“What?!” Natsu exclaimed. “Why?” 

Erza rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “You are interrupting the event, harassing my friend and causing a fuss, which I have received numerous complaints about.” 

Lucy was not surprised, in fact she was concerned why it didn’t happen twenty minutes ago. She still felt the overwhelming urge to plead to Erza to let him stay, but it was ruining her event. Lucy was partly responsible for Natsu’s outburst after all. 

“Natsu-” The writer started but was interrupted before she could say anything meaningful. 

“Leave before I call security to remove you.” 

“Erza! Don’t you think that's a bit extreme?” Lucy asked timidly. 

She had never seen such a mean look go across the redhead's face. Fiery brown eyes scowled at her and forced Lucy’s mouth shut. The blonds eyes found their way back to Natsu who was looking grumpy, but with a resigned look on his face. 

“It's fine Luce.” Natsu said smiling excitedly and made eye contact with Erza. “Call security.” 

In a matter of seconds, all the blood drained from Lucy's body, a vein exploded from Erza’s forehead, five security men came out of nowhere, and Natsu….well Natsu cracked his knuckles and shit went down hill really quick. 

The fight was over quickly with Erza getting involved and in a matter of minutes, the security team, all with bloody noses, dragged Natsu away. Lucy should have been furious that he ruined Erza’s event, should have been disgusted by his hot hotheadedness and the need to fight everyone. 

Was it odd that she found all of those things charming? 

Was it bad that her heart fluttered every time he shooed away the next candidate? 

Lucy huffed, “It must be the wine.” 

  
  
  


It took at least another hour before the speed dating event was finished. There were nice guys but Lucy couldn’t listen to them for too long without zoning out. There had also been a few tipsy men who got fresh with her, and Lucy forced them to leave early. 

The gaggle of ladies who showed up were now standing at the bar expectancy waiting as Erza passed out little pink slips, all filled with phone numbers. Every girl got at leads, so no one ended up crying and Lucy ended up with a handful of numbers she was never going to call. 

One by one, the women filed out of the restaurant, smiles on their faces and hopeful bounce in their step. When she collected her motivation to go outside, Erza put a hand on her and stopped her. All of a sudden, guilt ripped through her entire being. 

“Erza I’m sorry about that guy, he-” 

“Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to say sorry for kicking him out.” Erza sighed. “I could tell you liked him.” 

Lucy forced a smile, the hard curve of her lips feeling out of place. “No worries, Erza. He was interrupting your event.” Before Erza could say anything else, Lucy bid her goodbye and walked out the door. 

The town is alive at night, with the street lights providing a romantic glow and couples holding hands, drinking warm beverages. There were Valentines decorations hanging from every tree, hearts and arrows and doves all glowed in swirls of neon. 

She shrugged on her jacket, as she stared across the street at couples passing by. She didn’t notice the man leaning against the wall of the classy restaurant until he hollered at her. 

“Hey Luce!” 

She turned around at the familiar voice, and her eyes were graced with the sight of pink hair and hazel eyes. She thought she wouldn’t be seeing him again ever but welcomed the sight nonetheless. 

“Natsu, wha-what are doing here?” Lucy asked as he approached her. “How long have you been out here?” 

“I’ve been out here since they threw me out, but I didn’t feel quite like ending our little conversation.” Natsu said, sheepishly rubbing his neck. 

The blond knew her eyes must have been freakishly wide and she could feel her face catch fire despite the cold air. He waited. He actually stood outside in the night and waited for her. To be honest, the poet in her had awoken after Natsu left, and she imagined meeting him again weeks, months or even years later. Not an hour later. 

She came into this stupid event expecting cheesy pick up lines, sweating men and more then one cup of wine. But she was graced with rather amusing company and a sober head. 

As much as she was smitten, she wasn’t easy. 

“What makes you think I wanna continue our conversation?” she asked smugly, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Well, I think I got an adventure you would love to hear about.” Natsu said, crossing his arms and moving closer. 

They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, neither having the courage to blink or look away. Time didn’t fade away or anything cliche like that, Lucy was trying to see the story behind the playful hazel eyes. She was admiring the fleck of green and amber flicking in the low lit area and wondered if those hard eyes really promised an adventure. 

“Well I can’t resist a good story.” she said, giving the man a coy smile. 

“Would you like to get some food?” Natsu asked, extending his hand towards her. 

Feeling light as a feather and weak as a stick, she took his hand and could feel all the callus's and scars. 

“I would love to.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thanks for reading! I apologize for any mistakes I missed or if somethings were sloppy. I would love any feed back and have a nice day!


End file.
